NASCAR Standings — All Series

Points standings for Cup, O'Reilly, and Craftsman Trucks — updated after every race.

New to NASCAR's points system? Learn how The Chase works, including the points reset and championship format.

The 2026 Points Race

Tyler Reddick leads the 2026 NASCAR Cup standings with 716 points, 8 clear of Denny Hamlin (708). Through the early weeks of the season, the 23XI Racing driver has built the margin on the strength of 10 top-5 finishes, 12 top-10s, 5 wins — the best cumulative score in the Cup garage since the Daytona 500 kicked off the regular-season opener.

The Cup playoff cutline sits at the top 16 — the field that advances to The Chase. Ryan Preece currently holds the 16th and final transfer spot with 367 points, 5 ahead of Shane van Gisbergen as the first driver on the outside looking in. Austin Cindric occupies the 15th-spot bubble with 370 points, and every stage point and top-10 finish matters because a single bad day can swap positions in this stretch of the calendar. Follow the full weekend slate on the race schedule and revisit each round in the race results archive.

The 2026 Chase format is a clean break from the 2014-2025 elimination playoffs. There are no rounds, no cuts, and no reset between Round of 16, 12, 8, and 4 — all 16 qualifiers stay eligible for the full 10-race postseason. Points are reset entering The Chase with Seed 1 starting at 2,100 points and each subsequent seed losing five. During the postseason, a race win is worth 55 points (a 15-point jump over previous seasons), and the driver with the highest cumulative score after the Homestead-Miami finale is crowned champion — Phoenix is no longer the title-deciding venue.

Across the support series, Justin Allgaier leads the 2026 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series standings with 858 points, where the top 12 advance to the Chase field. Layne Riggs heads the Craftsman Truck Series order on 562 points, and the Trucks use a tighter top-10 cutline over a shorter 23-race regular season. Each series runs its own independent points championship, so a driver can be locked into one Chase field while still chasing a wildcard appearance in another.

NASCAR Cup Series logo

2026 Cup Series Standings

Series page →
RankDriverPoints
1Tyler Reddick716
2Denny Hamlin708
3Ryan Blaney583
4Kyle Larson536
5Ty Gibbs535
6Chase Elliott534
7Chris Buescher500
8Daniel Suarez478
9Carson Hocevar476
10Chase Briscoe431
11Bubba Wallace429
12Christopher Bell422
13William Byron421
14Erik Jones372
15Austin Cindric370
16Ryan Preece367
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series logo

2026 O'Reilly Series Standings

Series page →
RankDriverPoints
1Justin Allgaier858
2Jesse Love651
3Corey Day645
4Sheldon Creed642
5Austin Hill611
6Carson Kvapil604
7Sammy Smith578
8Brandon Jones573
9Parker Retzlaff533
10Sam Mayer510
11Brent Crews493
12Taylor Gray492
13William Sawalich472
14Rajah Caruth466
15Ryan Sieg446
16Anthony Alfredo379
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series logo

2026 Truck Series Standings

Series page →
RankDriverPoints
1Layne Riggs562
2Kaden Honeycutt497
3Chandler Smith434
4Gio Ruggiero410
5Christian Eckes408
6Ty Majeski353
7Ben Rhodes349
8Daniel Hemric313
9Tyler Ankrum301
10Jake Garcia283
11Grant Enfinger278
12Corey Heim274
13Stewart Friesen273
14Brenden Queen272
15Justin Haley261
17Tanner Gray246

Historical Standings

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the 2026 NASCAR Cup standings?
Tyler Reddick leads the 2026 Cup standings with 716 points, 8 points clear of Denny Hamlin. Points leaders are refreshed after every race via the official NASCAR feed. See the full race results and upcoming race schedule for context.
How are NASCAR Cup Series points calculated?
In 2026, NASCAR awards 55 points for a race win (up from 40), with points decreasing from there through the field. Bonus points are awarded for stage wins (1 point each). Stage points are earned at the end of each of the first two stages, and the race winner also earns a bonus win-margin. The old "playoff points" system has been eliminated — the top 16 drivers in regular-season standings qualify for The Chase, where points are reset based on seeding.
What is the NASCAR playoff cutline?
The Cup Series uses a top-16 cutline — the 16 drivers with the most regular-season points after 26 races advance to The Chase. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity) uses a top-12 cutline, and the Craftsman Truck Series uses a top-10 cutline. Each series resets points at the start of its postseason.
How does a driver qualify for The Chase?
In 2026, qualification is driven by regular-season points standings — finishing in the top 16 through 26 races locks a driver into The Chase. A regular-season race win does not automatically clinch a spot under the current format; wins still matter because they earn the most points (55) and help accumulate the stage and finish points a driver needs to stay above the cutline.
How many drivers make the NASCAR Chase?
Sixteen drivers qualify for The Chase based on the regular-season points standings after 26 races. In the previous elimination format (2014-2025), the field was cut after each round of three races — first to 12, then 8, then 4. The 2026 format keeps all 16 drivers in contention for all 10 Chase races.
What's the difference between Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks standings?
The Cup Series is NASCAR's top division, contested by 36 full-time drivers over 36 points-paying races. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (renamed from Xfinity in 2026) is the second tier with 33 races, and the Craftsman Truck Series runs 23 races. Each series tracks its own points championship, cutline, and Chase field — but many Cup drivers make occasional starts in the lower series as well.
When does The Chase start in 2026?
The 2026 NASCAR Chase begins at race 27 of the regular season. The 10-race Chase runs through the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 8, 2026. There are no elimination rounds — the driver with the most cumulative points after all 10 Chase races wins the championship.

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